Best Mops for Hardwood Floors of 2016: Reviews Inside

To have hardwood flooring at home is a special privilege which is not available to everyone. You will want to show off your hardwood floors to friends and family. However, for your hardwood floors to retain their attraction, they must be cleaned regularly and maintained well. Traditionally, people use buckets, detergents, scrubbers and get on their knees and start scrubbing away.

You don’t have to do that as in this best hardwood floor mop reviews; We shall be discussing how to choose the best steam mop for hardwood floors, that make your task so much simpler.

Hardwood floors are gifts that you will want to pass on to your great-grand children. But they need to be maintained well, which is why you need to get the best hardwood floor mop.

Factors should consider while choosing steam mops for hardwood floor

There is no need to scrub your hardwood floor with the prehistoric mops any longer. With the best steam mop for hardwood floor, which we shall be reviewing here, you no longer have to get down on your hands and knees and scrub hard to get rid of the ugly stain on the floor using your hands. It’s time you used a steam mop!

Using steam mops means that you don’t have to work as hard as before. You can save on time too. The models discussed here not only sanitize the floors, getting rid of the bacteria and germs, but are environmentally friendly and do not use any toxic chemicals. They are easily the best mops for hardwood floors out there.

Warranty

There are many important considerations to be made while selecting a steam mop, least of which is the warranty. Find out if your steam mop is covered by the warranty offered by your hardwood floor manufacturer and installer. This is very important, as some manufacturers and installers don’t cover steam mops under their warranty policies.

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Moisture

The other thing is to make sure that the steam mop does not release too much moisture to the surface, because the moisture impacts the wooden planks negatively, causing a certain dullness to appear on them. It should not – very important – release too much steam.

Lightweight

Also, is the steam mop lightweight enough for you to carry it around? No point in buying a steam mop that is so heavy that you can barely use it around the house.

Pads

Can you change the pads that come with the steam mop easily enough? This is another important consideration.

Environmentally Friendly

Is the steam mop environmentally friendly and made with non toxic materials? Is it capable of sanitizing the floors? The best steam mop for hardwood floor such as the Shark Steam Pocket Mop is capable of 99.9 percent sanitization.

So these are the factors to be taken into consideration while choosing a steam mop for your hardwood floor.

Top 5 Steam Mops For Hardwood Floors

BISSELL Powerfresh Steam Mop, Blue, 1940A

The BISSELL Powerfresh Steam Mop comes with an easy scrubber action which flips down and reaches as far as possible down to the crevices and the grout.

There are several reasons why the BISSELL Powerfresh Steam Mop is the best steam mop for hardwood floors. It comes with a special proprietary SmartSet Steam Control system which helps with anything from light cleaning tasks to heavy duty work. For light cleaning, you may select the low setting, medium for everyday cleaning tasks and high for the hardest cleaning tasks.

There are special features such as Spring Breeze fragrance disks which give it a fresh, clean scent as you use the steam mop. It comes with a low-profile mop head that is capable of quick action and cleaning the flooring at corners and edges. The Easy Scrubber cuts through dried sticky spots which cause so much trouble.

The Shark Steam Pocket Mop

The Shark Steam Pocket Mop costs under $70.00 and can be described as the best hardwood floor mop when it comes to effective action against germs and bacteria as it offers an impressive 99.9% sanitization. It is capable of deep cleaning and sanitizes the entire hardwood floor. With the box, you get a Mop Head, Shark Washable All Purpose Pockets, and a Filling Flask.

One of its special features is that it has double sided steam pocket padsthat has twice the cleaning area offered by most other mops – needing nothing more than a flip of the steam head to get started. The special Washable Microfiber Pockets lift and lock dirt which is often missed by other mops sold in the market. They are capable of a quick drying action and each of the pads is capable of high performance and lasts at least 20 washes. Clearly, the Shark Steam Pocket Mop is perhaps the best steam mop for hardwood floors in its price range.

Eureka Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer

The Eureka Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer costs under $60.00, which is a great price, considering it is one of a good steam mop for hardwood floors out there. Apart from hardwood, it can be used for any wood, laminate, granite, marble or other hard surfaces. It has a very good sanitization action and cleans floors to perfection. It has a very innovative steaming technology, using the full power of steam to first loosen and then remove even the most impossible dirt and grime.

The Eureka Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer does not use any harsh chemicals. It is very hygienic and cleans bare floors with great efficiency. It has a special degreasing power which helps to keep things very hygienic. The Eureka Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer’s steaming action is extremely powerful, as water gets converted into steal in a few minutes, which allows it to get rid of most dirt and grime, even that between crevices, even without the use of soap or detergents.

It is perfect for people who would like environmentally friendly cleaning products and solutions. Its sanitizing action kills bacteria and germs such as dust mites, salmonella and E-coli. That’s why the Eureka Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer figures in the best hardwood floor mop reviews.

Bissell 1132A Symphony All-in-One Vacuum and Steam Mop

There is much to like about the Bissell 1132A Symphony All-in-One Vacuum and Steam Mop although it is quite pricey. It is easily the best steam mop for hardwood floors out there and an incredibly sophisticated cleaning product that comes with amazing features.

It does the entire cleaning using just a single step process, which makes use of both the vacuuming action and the steam mop action at the same time. Indeed the Bissell Symphony All in One Vacuum and Steam Mop is the only product available on the market that vacuums and steams simultaneously.

This allows one to have a much cleaner, sanitized hardwood floors without a need to use any mop or buckets and bending on the knees with a scrubber in hand. Its Easy Touch Digital Controls make it easier to switch functions fast so that you can vacuum and steam either separately or at the same time, depending on how you want it.

There is an adjustable handle, which makes the machine easier to operate and a Quick-Release Mop Pad Tray, which is a nice feature to have. The Bissell 1132A Symphony All-in-One Vacuum and Steam Mop comes with 4 washable and replaceable Microfiber Mop Pad, two of them for scrubbing and two soft.

Bona Hardwood Floor Spray Mop

The Bona Pro Series Hardwood Floor Mop costs $39.10, which makes it a highly affordable hardwood floor mop, albeit one that does not compromise on quality. Bona is a well regarded company in the homecare industry, with a reputation for making the best mops for hardwood floors.

The Bona Pro Series Hardwood Floor Mop is quick and simple to use, and comes with a strong and durable, long lasting spray mop of a superior quality. It is made of non toxic material, and so is perfectly safe for wood, leaving no dulling residue of any sort. Its special ergonomic design makes it a pleasure to work with. It has a certification from GREENGUARD for Children and Schools program.

For these reasons, the Bona Pro Series Hardwood Floor Mop figures prominently in almost all best steam mops for hardwood floor mop reviews.

How to Steam Clean Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are very attractive and add great value to your home. However, not caring for them could diminish the value of your investment in no time at all. That’s why it is important to take care of your hardwood floors, to clean them regularly and to maintain them well. If you don’t clean the hardwood floors regularly, then a noticeable dullness will begin to appear, which makes them a sore sight for the eyes. That’s why you should choose a good cleaning method for your hardwood floors.

There are three main methods to clean hardwood floors. One uses disposable pads, another uses oil treatments and the third and the most effective, which we shall discuss at length, makes use of steam cleaners. All three methods do a good job, but the first two have certain disadvantages.

The problem with using disposable pads to clean the hardwood floors is that the pads have to be disposed off later and replaced with new ones after every use. This can cost you a lot as disposable pads are not cheap. Another issue is that the liquid used on the pads can discolor the floors if used too much.

Oil treatments are good and effective, and oil soaps give a shine to the hardwood. However, even with oil treatments, over a period of time the floor gets discolored.

That’s why steam cleaning is so effective. It does not leave any residue and does not cause any discoloring of the hardwood floors. Also, when you use steam cleaning, the cleaned areas dry very fast, which means you don’t have to barricade the rooms where the cleaning is being done for too long.

Steam cleaner use a highly effective method to convert water to steam called flash heating. The technology makes use of a tank free water heater to heat the water in no time at all. So, most hardwood floor steam cleaners take a couple of minutes, maximum, to convert water into vapors and to begin the cleaning process.

If you are using steam cleaners for the hardwood floors, first, before the cleaning, you should remove as much of the dust and grime from the surfaces as possible. This is important because if you steam clean over a surface that has debris on it, that only causes scratches to appear.

If you are using a cleansing solution in the steam cleaner in addition to water, ensure that it is of a medium pH level. Also, ensure that the floors are perfectly sealed. You don’t want to use the steam cleaners on cracked surfaces as the moisture should never get soaked into the hardwood – if it does, it will cause considerable damage to it.

Now use the hardwood steam cleaner. Operating a steam cleaner is very easy. You just need to fill the water canister with hot water, ensure that the filters are clean, put the water canister in its place, heat the water till it boils and turns to mist. Start with one of the corners of the room and work your way to the opposite corner. Go back and forth repeatedly till the entire area has been covered and the hardwood floors have been cleaned.

Tips For Cleaning Hardwood Floors

You will find these tips for cleaning hardwood floors really quite useful.

Tip #1. Sweep the floor using a soft bristled broom, and then with the dust mop. What you want to do here is to pick up the dirt and the dust on the hardwood floor. The dirt damages the finish, especially when you walk on them – which causes scratches, dents and what not.

Tip #2. Never wear shoes in the house. Well, this might take you a little time to get used to, but not wearing footwear in the house really helps to keep your hardwood floors clean. What happens is, when you walk on the hardwood floors with shoes on, the dirt gets pressed into it, causing scratches to appear.

Tip #3. The mop should be only slightly damp. This is because it’s not a good idea for moisture to seep into the cracks on the floor, which may cause extensive damage to the wood. So even if you use wet mopping, be sure to dry the floor immediately afterwards using a non abrasive pad, as described earlier.

Tip #4. Ensure that nothing gets spilled onto the floors. This might be a little hard to maintain, but what you can do is place mats, rugs on the hardwood floors, especially in areas of heavy traffic. This ensures that any liquid does not spill onto the floors, and moisture does not seep into the hardwood, and protects the floor against scratches.

Tip #5. Never use ultra strong vinegar or ammonia while cleaning hardwood floors. Use only mild versions of both because when in high concentrations, these liquids can etch the finishing of the floors, causing the hardwood to dull. It is much better to use a pH neutral cleaner. In fact, oil soap is a good natural cleaner. And once you use the cleaner, dry the floor completely with a towel or with a fan.

Tip #6. One great tip is to protect the bottom of the furniture and table with a pad or some form of protection, so that the hardwood finish does not get scratched or dented when you move the furniture on it.

Conclusion

Having a beautiful hardwood blessing is a privilege that not everyone is blessed with. If you are one of the few lucky people on the planet to have hardwood flooring at home, whether it is a beautiful pine or oak covering, then it is very important that you should take excellent care of it. Caring for your hardwood floors isn’t hard at all; just follow the tips, guidelines and advice given above. This is enough to ensure that your hardwood floor lasts several decades into the future.

My name is Jason L. Godwin and I have working in carpets, tiles and flooring business for 5+ years. The beststeammop.net is my effort to help my customers to gain insight of the cleaning machines that will help them to get the most suitable machine for their home’s circumstance. Hope you will also find this website useful to you too 🙂

My name is Jason L. Godwin and I have working in carpets, tiles and flooring business for 5+ years. The beststeammop.net is my effort to help my customers to gain insight of the cleaning machines that will help them to get the most suitable machine for their home's circumstance. Hope you will also find this website useful to you too :)

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